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Please Note: This is a key takeaways and analysis of the book and not the original book. Start Publishing Notes' Summary and Analysis of Rebecca Skloot's - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks includes a summary of the book, review, analysis & key takeaways, and detailed "About the Author" section. Preview: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a creative non-fiction book that explores the source of HeLa, the most commonly used human cell line in the world. In order to bring its origin to light, Rebecca Skloot weaves together several narrative threads. One is primarily focused on Henrietta Lacks, the woman who, without her knowledge, became central to 20th century biomedical research. Another is the birth of modern biomedical research itself, and its roots in the American eugenics movement. Finally, there is the impact of this research, both of the Lacks Family and on society at large. Skloot divides the book into 3 parts: Life, Death, and Immortality, which intertwines a complicated cast of characters and jumps between dramatized historical anecdotes, Skloot's first-person detective work, and a layman's explanations of complicated matters of modern cell biology and medical ethics.